Reader: When's the New York Pot Party?

Letter of the Week
I would like to complain about that article [La Dolce Musto, November 2228] that called Christine Ebersole, Kristin Chenoweth, Audra McDonald, Donna Murphy, and Debra Monk greedy whores! First of all, I don't think any of these women are in any way greedy. They are just actresses. Sure, people like, oh, say, Nicole Kidman may be considered greedy, but not those Broadway actresses. And they're not whores either! In terms of Kristin, just because she appears in a bikini on the cover of FHM doesn't mean she's a whore!
Jason Breslin South Salem, New York

Don't dance around it
As a capoeirista in instructor Cotonete's class, I wondered what Elizabeth Velardi's agenda for complaint was truly about [Letter of the Week, November 29 December 5]. Instead of nitpicking that the Voice highlighted a specific capoeira class, she should be grateful for the attention this brings to the entire capoeira community. Perhaps the disgruntled reader should spend more time contributing to and learning about the art rather than creating petty competition between the schools. There are tons of schools with great teachers in the New York area, and I'm confident that the "Best Dance/Martial Arts Class" write-up mainly helped bring awareness about the art form.Danny JiminianManhattan

Fuming with anger
Thank you for sharing the lives of the victims of the deadly, toxic air that surrounded the city after 9-11 and probably still does ["Death by Dust," Kristen Lombardi, November 29December 5]. My husband and I were in the city that day, not far from the site, and to this day we both have more frequent sinus problems, coughs, and related ailmentsand we were not directly at the site. You have to wonder what effect the air has had on the people who live in the area close to the site. You have to wonder about the effect it's having on the workers who are there now. It's frightening.Emilee Klein Hamden, Connecticut

These men have been used and discarded by the American government, left to suffer with devastating cancers and other ailments. While they cannot reclaim their health, they deserve every red cent they can squeeze out of this class-action lawsuit, and more.Tracey LindemanMontreal, Quebec

This is an excellent article, but there is no mention of the possible health effects on the people of New York City, not just the first-response emergency workers, but regular people who live, work, and breathe in Manhattan, who were exposed to the dust, chemicals, and toxic smoke in the air over the weeks and months following the pulverization of the towers. What do you think might be the result of that kind of exposure?Linda LupowitzCorrales, New Mexico

So now, five years later, someone is beginning to connect the dots in Man- hattan. Namely, you all got nuked on 9-11. Mini nuclear/thermite devices most probably brought the towers down.John HawkSanta Fe, New Mexico

Run for it, Musto!
I normally find Mr. Musto's column amusing, but I was really appalled by it recently [La Dolce Musto, November 2228]. It's one thing to be clever, but it's another thing to be downright insulting. To call the women who will possibly be nominated for a Tony "greedy whores" is uncalled-for. He should hope that none of their husbands or fathers
read that! Mr. Musto obviously does care if he offends readers, and his column is certainly not geared to serious readersand least not woman readers. Well, you lost the respect of this
woman reader, and Mr. Musto's lost a book sale. Now all he has to worry about are those husbands!A lady reader Manhattan

What would Borat do?
After reviewing your review of The Nativity Story ["Passion of the Christ: A Very Special Episode," Scott Foundas, November 29December 5], all I can say is, you just don't get it. Maybe you think everyone should be content to get their inner man satisified by Borat. In the big scheme of things, now there's a real yawn. Sometimes you just need more!Joanne MoriartyWestwood, New Jersey

Last writes
Thanks for the Nashvile review revisited ["A Critics' Duet," Andrew Sarris & Molly Haskell, November 29December 5]. Nashville was my obsession. The last time I saw it was at the Castro Theatre in San Francisco six years ago. It was almost like Rocky Horror, with sing-alongs, clapping, and roaring laughter. This was the way to see the film. It was Shelley Duvall's L.A. Joan that seemed to draw the most appreciation from the audience. Alas, with the death of Robert Altman, waiting for the next film is over. What an extreme void.J.T. Belk Overland Park, Kansas

Thanks so much for publishing the Sarris/ Haskell dialogue. I love Nashville and was happy to be reminded of the thoughtful, enlightening comments of these great film critics.Allan OliverPortland, Oregon

How wonderful to read the vintage Andrew Sarris and Molly Haskell piece in your film section. How sickening to realize that, were they on the staff of the new Voice, they'd be axed like so many other great writers. Shame, you philistines!Carl RussoSan Francisco

Wrenching experiences
Re Mara Altman's "The Body Beautiful"
[November 2228]: Kudos big-time to the Voice, Mara Altman, Ms. Silberman, the staff, and especially the girls of Automotive High. Mara apparently did her homework, getting up close and personal, the way a good reporter should.The idea that a woman who can fix a transmission can't be hot is ludicrous (the same goes for boys ministering to the sickmaybe you should do a sequel about the boys at Clara Barton). Moreover, the attitude that college and white-collar
employ should be the goal of high school students is wrongheaded. It takes smarts and skills to be a mechanic, electrician, plumber, etc. The pay can be higher, and if you're good, you can go anywhere and find work. You also don't have hundreds of thousands of dollars in loans to repay. The simple fact is, we spend the majority of our waking life at work, and to succeed and be happy you must like what you do. And that is an important component of self-esteem. So enough with the dirty-hands stigma. In fact, it's harmful to our youth and society.Bill RobersonBrooklyn

The article says the girls of the automotive school "shatter stereotypes" but then goes on to tell how they flirt back with boys who do things that should be considered sexual harassment. Even the title of the article is contradictory. As a female who has gone through several nontraditional job-training programs for women, I can tell you that the sad fact is that gender/
sexual stereotypes are not shattered in these places but even encouraged. L.M.New York City

Sorry. What was the question?
Re Sean Gardiner's "That Darned Khat" [November 2228]: Just wanted to know when the New York pot party is. Can't tell by the column you wrote. Need to know dates. Thanks.Melanie BramlettChattanooga, Tennessee

Beyond the pale
Re Miles Marshall Lewis's "Hova's Slight Return" [November 29December 5]: Let me make sure that I heard you correctly: Whether or not Jay's album is successful depends upon whether the 16-year-old white male can relate? Are you kidding me? Can that 16-year-old relate to 50 Cent or the Game or any other black rapper, for that matter? Since when is that the only indicator for success? I am a 35-year-old black, divorced mother of three, and I love Jay-Z and I love his latest album. I work in a corporate environment and I'm an exec at an insurance company. I relate to the music, and I love that Jay is 37 and still the most lyrically sound rapper alivehands down. How the 16-year-old white kid feels about it is irrelevant to me. (Also, if reported estimates are correct, the white kids are feeling Jay, regardless of age.)Joi TillmanRaytown, Missouri

Auteur! Auteur!
Re "The Greats" and "The Patriot" [November 2228] by Nathan Lee: Just when I was despairing for the future of film criticism at the Voice, along comes Lee with reviews of three essential directorial retrospectives for hardcore cinephiles: Jacques Rivette at MMI, Roberto Rossellini at MOMA and the mini John Ford series at BAM. He does full justice to these great directors with both wit and wisdom. This is the type of informed criticism I expect from the Voice.Jim GerowRosedale, New York

Letter of the weak
Reading the Nat Hentoff article on torture ["What the Democrats Must Do," November 29December 5] is as much a torture as any waterboarding session. He makes it sound as if regular, everyday Americans are being swept up and tortured at will by the evil and corrupt Bush/Cheney/Rove machine! That the poor fellow who fell behind on his house, car, boat, or credit card payment is going to be flown to Egypt and tortured endlessly until he agrees to pay within a week or so. My question is, since when does the Bill of Rights extend to any enemy combatant!?

If you think that an Arab losing sleep for a few nights or set on a waterboard for a few minutes isn't worth even one American life, then you are weak. As far as I am concerned they could smash his toes, feet, and legs until they were roast beef to get him to talk, then sew him up and have him tell his story to all those who might think about taking his path.

You fight wars to win, and in every struggle since the dawn of this great nation we have lost some of our rights during these epic battlesyet somehow we always get them back. You people on the left know nothing of winning a war, know nothing of fighting a battle.

If we left this country under your guard we would certainly be in a worse position than we would be by giving up our rights permanently! I'd rather die in an American gulag than die in a world run by you people.John SmadaRochester, New York

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